How To Stay Ahead of Stress

This cannot be stressed enough. Whether you like Google calendar, your iPhone calendar, a monthly calendar on your wall, a planner that is organized week by week, or all of the above, have a place to write everything down. Not only will this help you visualize your week and remember everything you have to do, sometimes writing things down help you feel calmer and more organized and prepared.

Plan out your week ahead of time.

Take some time out of your weekend to look ahead at the coming week. Make a note of assignments that should be prioritized, of assignments that should be started for even the following week, and of meetings that you need to attend outside of class. Paying particular attention to things that maybe don’t fit into your normal schedule and are things that you may easily forget about.

Lists.

Personally, I have a pad of sticky notes on my person at all times. If I remember something I need to do, I’ll write it down on a sticky note and put it in my planner or even directly on my laptop where it can’t be ignored. Writing things down in list format makes me feel more organized. And nothing beats that feeling of checking something off your list, makes me feel like I’ve accomplished something even if the only thing I checked off my list was “make a to-do list for today”.

Exercise.

I know this is no one’s favorite thing. But even if you can only fit in a set of sit-ups, this mini adrenaline rush will help you feel like you can conquer the world. Take a little time for yourself and your body and get those endorphins flowing.

Sleep.

Sleep is often the thing that people choose to sacrifice in order to get other stuff done. Sleep is one of the most effective tools for managing stress. Try and get those seemingly impossible 8 hours, and if you can’t manage that, build in time for some cat naps or even a 10-minute break to just lay down and shut your eyes.

Drink Water!

The easiest thing you can do for your stress, as well as your physical health, is to drink water. By staying hydrated you can cut down on false hunger pangs, and headaches as well as boost your energy. If you can’t do anything else, take a minute to fill up your water bottle and get that good H-2-whoa feeling.